One idea to resolve the universal benefits versus targeted benefits issue, at least for the elderly, comes from an old friend Anne Bradford who has, to put it mildly, quite a lot financial experience in banking and as an adviser to people in hardship: Continue reading “Universal versus targeted benefits?”
Category: Whitehall
The Audit Commission – chronicle of a death unforetold
Britain has one of the least corrupt public services in the world. Mistakes, yes they happen. Inefficiencies, certainly – what large complex organisations don’t have a constant battle with becoming overweight? But public servants pocketing public funds, or demanding bribes to do their jobs, is mercifully a very rare occurrence, now.
Continue reading “The Audit Commission – chronicle of a death unforetold”
I predict a riot
No, not the irritating Kaiser Chiefs song, a real riot. The revelations that up to 15,000 jobs, and 22% of the budget, is probably going to be slashed from the Ministry of Justice – which runs prisons in England and Wales – started that little ditty running around my head again. Continue reading “I predict a riot”
Smaller Desk, Sir Humphrey? Reality imitates TV…
The Daily Telegraph reports that Treasury civil servants are being expected to squeeze up a bit and use less floor space and smaller desks as part of Whitehall’s efficiency drive. Continue reading “Smaller Desk, Sir Humphrey? Reality imitates TV…”
Monster Cuts versus Alien Reforms
All pretence that the Coalition government is merely trying to sort out the country’s public finances is long gone. It is a Liberal Conservative government, in the 19th century sense of wanting a small, liberal, state with the minimum of compassion for the ‘deserving poor’ and as little socialized provision as possible. It is setting out to achieve what Thatcher tried and only half succeeded in – reversing much of the great liberal-social democratic reforms of the 20th century. Continue reading “Monster Cuts versus Alien Reforms”
Losers Dilemma
One of the interesting processes going on at the moment is the election of chairs of select committees in Parliament, and then the members of the committees themselves. Continue reading “Losers Dilemma”
Osborne Attacks Educational Choice (no, not that Osborne)
The current debates about so-called ‘free’ schools remind me of an incident more than a decade ago which was somewhat seared into my memory. Continue reading “Osborne Attacks Educational Choice (no, not that Osborne)”
Whitehall Plays ‘Pass the Parcel’ with 1st Round of Cuts and Job Losses
The most obvious thing about today’s £6.2bn worth of cuts is the degree to which Whitehall departments have successfully ‘passed the parcel’ onto other parts of public services: local and devolved government, quangos, universities, private sector contractors and suppliers, and others will take the bulk of the pain. Continue reading “Whitehall Plays ‘Pass the Parcel’ with 1st Round of Cuts and Job Losses”
Who guards The Guardian?
The Guardian is running with the ‘Labour’s spending spree’ story for all its worth, but no-one seems to be asking some rather obvious questions.
First, the story alleges that an unusually high number of Whitehall ‘accounting officers’ (usually permanent secretaries) lodged formal objections to spending decisions in the last year of the Labour government. So much appears to be the, rather thin, factual basis of the story. Continue reading “Who guards The Guardian?”
Office for Budget Responsibility – major reform or gimmick?
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is being touted as a really big reform to how the government ‘does’ fiscal policy. Essentially, the claim is that fiscal forecasting will be outsourced to the OBR which will be independent and therefore free of political interference. How does this claim stack up? Continue reading “Office for Budget Responsibility – major reform or gimmick?”
Colin Talbot - my blog 